I'm a newbie here...

[7thofa2nd]

OK, I'm new here and just trying to get familiar with posting. I have no idea if I'm even posting this where it's supposed to be posted. If it doesn't belong here, please remove it. So here goes...

Over the winter I purchased 5 go karts, simple yard kart projects. One has already been finished and sold. Now I'm working on the other 4 all at once... mind boggling to say the least. Three of the karts were little more than a pile of rubble, but I enjoy a good challenge.

These kart photos that I've added as attachments were purchased for $25 each. I know... wow huh?

Once I stripped them down to the bare frames, a couple of them looked to be a little special, though I'm having trouble identifying the make and model. Yes, I've gone through hundreds, maybe thousands of online photos to the point of making my brain go numb.

The first one with the gas tank mounted on a raised thingamajiggy has duel rear drum brakes and is a single wheel drive. I'd like to know what it is. The second one has beautiful lines and the steering column support is what makes it stand out to me. On most karts, the support tubing slopes forward, this one slopes back. That should be the identifying feature I would think. I don't know what make it is either.

Any help in identifying these 2 karts would be much appreciated.

Let's see if I can figure out how to add some photos...

 

[7thofa2nd]

Oh yeah... forgot to mention... the first one had maybe 10 layers of paint, every color of the rainbow. And, the first one I bought, that I've already sold, is shown in before and after photos in my album.

 

[anickode]

That first one that is "one wheel drive" looks like a vintage racing frame designed for dual engines (probably 2 strokes with one configured to spin backwards). That'd be one engine for each wheel.

I don't know enough about the vintage karts to identify it, but it could actually be worth something restored. If you have the ability to do a proper restoration, go for it. If not, you're better off selling it as-is then doing a poor resto job on it.

 

[7thofa2nd]

I do believe you're right... it's a vintage racing kart. I was thinking the first one may be a Simplex. The wheels with the grease caps, the duel drum brakes, the steering wheel and the brake/gas pedals stood out to me. And, the fact that it had slicks front and rear.

 

[7thofa2nd]

1960 Simplex Mark I

 

[7thofa2nd]

My restoration will be flawless out of respect for kart history. I won't make any alterations that can't be easily undone, just temporarily till the proper parts are located. The more I learn, the deeper I dig for more. Years ago, before moving to CA and living there for 21 years, I had 6 karts all at one time (before the Internet't wealth of info) and just rode them with my kids. Now that I plan to restore karts in my retirement, I want as much originality as possible... even if I have to fabricate clone parts.

THANKS for your input, much appreciated.